Emmanuel Macron hopes in the long term for a negotiation between Russia and Ukraine – Le Monde

The Head of State, Emmanuel Macron, during his interview with Caroline Roux on the France 2 channel, October 12, 2022. LUDOVIC MARIN / AFP While many non-aligned countries, tired of the fighting, advocate a ceasefire fire and negotiation, Emmanuel Macron sought, Wednesday, October 12 on France 2, to confirm France’s support for Ukraine, without closing the door to a possible dialogue with Moscow when kyiv deems it possible. “At some point it will be in Ukraine’s and Russia’s interest to negotiate,” said the head of state. It’s not up to us to decide for Ukraine, we wouldn’t have accepted it from our allies. This suggestion comes as Russian President Vladimir Putin was due to meet his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, in Kazakhstan on Thursday. “The Turks offer their mediation. If contacts were to take place, they would be made on Turkish territory, indicated as a prelude the diplomatic adviser to the Kremlin, Yuri Ouchakov, specifying to expect an “interesting and useful discussion”. To date, Emmanuel Macron is not in a position to mediate, if only because France, without being at war with Russia, supports Ukraine. Russian President Vladimir Putin “must end this war, respect the territorial integrity of Ukraine and return to the discussion table”, repeated Mr. Macron. However, he defended on France 2 his constant concern to speak when necessary to the head of the Kremlin, in particular on subjects such as the fate of the nuclear power plant in Zaporizhia, occupied and annexed by the Russians, and of which the Ukrainians hope to regain control. Read also: Article reserved for our subscribers Ukraine demands an air shield from the West to protect the population against Russian missiles and drones Putin remains an interlocutor For him, the Russian president remains an interlocutor, in order to try to “build” or to “bring peace back”, while some of the leaders of the Eastern part of the continent consider him rather as a war criminal, who must above all be brought to justice. As for Volodymyr Zelensky, he now refuses to imagine any contact with his Russian counterpart, since the annexation by Moscow, at the end of September, of the occupied territories of Donbass, Kherson and Zaporijia. Emmanuel Macron does not want to speak of a “terrorist state” with regard to Russia either, just as he did not want to speak of “genocide” when the American president, Joe Biden, had taken up this term in the spring after the discovery atrocities committed against civilians in the suburbs of kyiv, abandoned by Russian troops. On the other hand, Mr. Macron clearly designates Russia as the aggressor, and warns the Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko against a possible direct participation of his army in the conflict. If he seeks to avoid any escalation, the Head of State also recalls that France is “equipped” with nuclear weapons. A way of responding to the threats of nuclear confrontation hammered home by the Kremlin in recent weeks, on the sidelines of the partial mobilization decreed in order to stem the Ukrainian counter-offensive. You have 37.7% of this article left to read. The following is for subscribers only.